Skip To Main Content
Reinvention edition banner 1180x90
Reinvention edition banner 778x150
2022 kia seltos 3

2022 Kia Seltos Gets More Power and a Plusher Cabin


Constant updates are essential if you want to keep up with the feverish pace at which new crossovers are being churned out these days. Kia has done just that with the 2022 Seltos copping some much-needed tweaks to its styling and most importantly, more power.

RELATED: 2023 Kia Niro EV and Hybrid Confirmed for Australia: Starts from $44,380

2022 kia seltos 2

2022 Kia Seltos | Image: Kia

Revealed at the LA Auto Show, the new 2022 Kia Seltos takes things in a slightly new direction for the South Korean car manufacturer. The new look adds in more muscle to the stance while the Seltos also bows down to the trend of having a full-length light bar at the rear. The larger grille and the meatier front bumper design are a bigger success in our books in terms of mid-life surgery though the Seltos remains a more conservative design when compared to larger siblings like the Sportage.

Inside, the cabin has been duly spruced up with plusher materials and a digital cockpit. Gone are the analogue gauges as even the base trim gets a smaller digital display. The switches around the dashboard have also been re-designed while the new screen layout brings it up-to-date with rivals.

2022 kia seltos 1

2022 Kia Seltos | Image: Man of Many

Equipment levels have swelled up to include more standard equipment like USB-C charging points, Blind-spot assist, Rear cross-traffic assist and Lane-keep assist. These features were previously only available with the top-end GT-Line and Sport+.

The biggest change though is inside the hood with the 1.6-litre turbo-petrol making more horsepower at 195bhp and getting a new 8-speed torque converter automatic which replaces the previous 7-speed DCT. The move to a torque converter auto is because Kia intends this to be a comfy urban runabout and the slightly jerky DCT was perhaps one of the few foibles in the earlier version. A 2.0-litre petrol with a CVT automatic gearbox continues to be also part of the range. All-wheel drive is optional while it is front-wheel drive as standard.

Prices have crept up by $2000 across the range but the updates do justify it to some extent and the Seltos is still one of the more convincing buys within the small SUV spectrum.

Check it out

2022 kia seltos 5

2022 Kia Seltos | Image: Kia

2022 kia seltos 4

2022 Kia Seltos | Image: Kia

2022 kia seltos

2022 Kia Seltos | Image: Man of Many